


I Found Love

by imightbejehan



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Pining, i accidentally stole your laundry au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-03-19 11:43:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3608832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imightbejehan/pseuds/imightbejehan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bunch of NaruSai/SaiNaru fics I'm writing for narusai week! They don't need to be read in order, and don't take place in the same universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> this is not my favorite.. feels a little bit choppy and underdeveloped,, but i wasnt going to write anything for this day so i pulled this right outta my ass. i wish i had more time.. but this would be waay too long 
> 
> just imagine listening to Neptune by Sleeping at Last while reading this. I highly suggest it

Naruto left in the middle of September. When the door slammed shut Sai was left alone in the dim light of their apartment. No, it wasn’t theirs anymore. It was just his.

 

    Sai left the apartment for a run the next morning. The air was cold and brisk, and he enjoyed it just like any other day. He turned to point the black and orange spotted frog out to Naruto, but next to him was just empty air rushing past.

 

“You’re just a cold bastard. You never cared did you?”   

 

    When Sai went to the tea cafe Yamato walked past and stopped to take a seat.

    “Where’s Naruto? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

    “He’s on a mission.” His hand grew whiter on the cup handle.

    “When’s he going to be back? I was thinking Kakashi-senpai was overdue in meeting with Team 7-”

    “That information was not disclosed to me,” Sai stated. Yamato’s face clouded, but Sai already had his back turned.

 

    “I thought- I can’t believe I wasted two years on you. You don’t have an ounce of emotion in your whole body.”

 

    Sleeping got harder in October. The nights were colder, increasingly darker and the queen size bed swallowed Sai whole. He spent more and more time painting, but it always seemed to turn out the same. There were no titles anymore.

    He took every mission he could get his hands on - anything to get out of the apartment he used to call home. When Sai woke up each morning with the chill creeping in he knew where his real home was.

 

    “You never cared… Not an ounce of emotion in your whole body…”

 

    He felt his heart drop when he entered the apartment and heard a loud crash.

    “Naruto?” Sai called, closing the door gently behind him. He didn’t move any farther into the apartment. He couldn’t.

    All sound ceased. It was an agonizingly slow minute before a blond head peered around the bedroom door frame.

    “Sai.” Naruto’s voice was cold. Hard. His eyes hazed over, and he took a breath almost so slight Sai would have missed it if he wasn’t collecting every detail and storing it in his mind. “Tsunade told me you were on a mission.”

    “I got back early.”

    “Fine.” Another breath. “I’ll be out of your hair in five minutes. Then you don’t have to worry about me anymore.” As if an after thought Naruto laughed, a hollow, sad sound. “As if you worry about me.”

    “I-I do.” Sai had never stuttered in his life, but suddenly all articulateness left him.

    “Very funny, y’know.” Naruto turned back into the bedroom with a frown. This time Sai got his legs to move, and had his hand wrapped around Naruto’s forearm within a matter of seconds.

    “I’m serious, Naruto.”

    “Shut the fuck up, Sai,” Naruto screeched, wrenching his arm from Sai’s grasp. “I’m so tired, so goddam tired of falling for your stupid lies thinking ‘maybe he really does care, maybe I really am something to im’ and each time you let me down.”

    “But I-”

    “And yeah I knew you weren’t used to social customs or whatever, but I didn’t think you were so stupid. I told you that we were done three months ago. I’m done with you leading me on, y’know,” Naruto interrupted, whirling around to poke the other boy in the chest. “Don’t give me none of that ‘I still care’ shit because you didn’t even try to stop me when I walked out that door, y’know.”

    “Naruto-”

    “You never care for other people’s feelings do you? I really love-loved you, y’know, and you don’t even care-”

    “Naruto!” Sai yelled. “Shut up, just shut up!”

    The blond stepped back, mouth still wide open.

    “I know this is just another list of excuses to you, but I haven’t known what it’s like to feel for years. ROOT did something to me, deep deep down. The I met you, and saw the pure love you felt for your friends even if it was unrequited. I thought to myself, ‘I want that’, which slowly became ‘I want him like that’. But-but you always wanted bonds, when I had to spend my whole life destroying them.” He was crying now, eyes cast down and heart laid bare. “I really love you, Naruto. You have no idea what these past three months have been like. I was so used to you around and then it was like a switch flipped. Everyone else was allowed to carry on but me; my whole life flipped upside down. And I miss you so much. I don’t know how to make you know I care. I care so much-”

    Within seconds Naruto’s lips were smashed against Sai’s. Teeth clashed, and at one point Sai fell against the wall behind him. There was no softness, but behind the roughness there was a certain kindness. They poured three months of pain and loneliness into one kiss, leaving every ounce of emotion on the table.

    “I love you so much,” Sai whispered when they broke apart. “I don’t know what I would do if our bond ever broke.”

    “God, you have know idea how happy I am to hear that.” Naruto smiled, full and with only the purest kind of happiness. Sai leaned over to gently kiss his lovers closed eyelids.

  
    Sai woke up the next day to an apartment bathed in sunlight. He briefly groaned about Naruto leaving the shades open the night before, before kissing Naruto awake.

 


	2. Clothes Swap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto is bad at remembering the laundry, and Sai is a clepto within reason.

So far, college had been nothing but rushing around for Naruto. He had decided that taking 17 credits his first semester was ‘a good idea’ and wouldn’t let Iruka talk him out of it for the life of him, thinking that if he got all his requirements done now then he would have more time to do the fun stuff. And he couldn’t not be active! So cue joining club rugby and boxing. Don’t even mention his permanently grumpy roommate Sasuke, who was constantly locking Naruto out of the dorm. It probably didn’t help the the blond always conveniently forgot his keys.

    With all this going on it wasn’t uncommon for Naruto to just throw his laundry in a random washer before booking it to his next class. What was uncommon was Naruto in a tight crop top the next morning.

    “What the fuck!” Naruto yelled, turning away from the mirror. Sasuke snickered from his bed, not having a class for another hour.

    “Did you shrink all your clothes, dobe?”

    “No,” he hissed, scrambling out of the shirt, “I know for sure I had the machine on the right setting!”

    After struggling to get the shirt over his broad shoulders Sasuke jumped down and yanked the blond out from under the black fabric.

    “Come to think of it,” Sasuke murmured, sliding the mesh in between his fingers, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear this.”

    “Uhh, but then how did it get in my pile?”

    “You idiot. You grabbed someone elses clothes.”

    “No way!”

    “Yes way. Unless you can explain when you got so into art.” Sasuke plucked a pair of boxers out of the laundry basket, shoving it and the black and white paintbrush design in Naruto’s face.

    “But I took these out of dryer 42, everyone knows that’s my dryer!”

    “How long were they in there for?”

    “Like, uhh, 3 hours.”

    “That explains it you fucking idiot.” Sasuke slowly crawled back into bed, his voice getting sleepier and more irritated by the word. “Someone switched your batch with theirs because it was taking so long. Your clothes are probably on the fucking folding table.”

    “Mah! Sasuke you’re a genius, y’know!”

    Naruto hurriedly dressed in the only articles of clothing he didn’t wash - a orange and black tracksuit - and sprinted out the door to reclaim his laundry.

 

“Of course! Of fucking course!” Naruto kicked the empty folding table and shoved a yellow sticky note in his mouth in anger, only to quickly spit it out in disgust.

He glared at the offending slip of paper, now crumbled and wet. The smooth cursive handwriting was still legible.

 

To Naruto Uzumaki,

I can only assume this is your name because of the permanent marker in your bright orange boxers, so forgive me if I am mistaken. It seems that you have stolen my laundry out of dryer 42, and because this was the majority of my wardrobe I have taken your amass of brightly colored clothes to wear while I wait to hear back from you. As is custom, I will not leave my number because you are a stranger, but I will be in the caf at exactly 12 noon in three days. Please excuse the delay.

~Sai

 

Now Naruto not only had none of his clothes, but he had to borrow some crop top addict’s for the next three days. With a groan he settled on the tracksuit for the rest of the day, and to figure the rest out when the time came. For now he had an accounting class to take.

 

Walking into the caf it suddenly hit Naruto that he had no idea what this Sai person looked like, and most likely vice versa. This thought only came to him when he stood in the middle of the cafeteria with a piping hot bowl of ramen in his clutches looking like a lost child.

He caught quite a few gazes, but he figured it was the outfit more than anything. Naruto had tried his hardest to make due with what clothes he had, so he wore a red button up - unbuttoned because damn Sai was skinny - a black tight crop top and some joggers, but it was far from being in his comfort zone. He just wanted his baggy cotton t shirts back.

“Excuse me.” There was a light tap on Naruto’s shoulder. He whirled around so fast he almost dropped the ramen. “Naruto Uzumaki?”

Naruto stared dumbly at the boy standing before him. Dark hair, and matching dark eyes, plump lips, and a pale face framing the features. He wasn’t much shorter than the blond, but his large grey shirt still seemed to swallow him whole.

“You are Naruto Uzumaki, correct?” the boy asked again, tilting his head to the side as if worried, but his facial expression didn’t change.

“Uh, uh yeah,” Naruto stuttered. “Sai right?”

“I’m sure you would like your clothes returned to you promptly, but would you mind if I grabbed something to eat first?”

“Oh! Nah, I’m gonna eat myself. Wait no, I’m not going to eat myself, Imma eat too. So, yeah.”

Sai led the way to a booth table in the back of the caf where he sat with his three pieces of pizza and basket of fries. Naruto sat across from him.

“So, Naruto Uzumaki-”

“Just Naruto is fine.”

“-you certainly wear tight boxers.”

Naruto spit his bite of ramen to his right, causing a girl to get soaked in the chicken broth spit.

“What the actual fuck dude!”

“Just making an observation.”

“Well, you-you wear really tight shirts!”

“You must be top of your class, Naruto.”

“Ha ha. Funny jackass,” the blond grumbled.

“Am I being rude?” Sai asked, causing Naruto to look up from pouting into his ramen. He looked oddly sincere. “I’m often told I don’t have proper social etiquette.”

Naruto smiled. “People tell me the same thing.”

 

They talked for over an hour before Sai realized he needed to be getting to an afternoon class soon. He gave Naruto his room number and asked the blond to meet him there so they could switch clothes back.

Naruto sprinted back to his own dorm, mind going crazy. He had spent the last three days hating Sai for jacking his clothes, but now he had actually met the guy… It was a whole different story.

“You better have your key when you come back. I have class,” Sasuke called when he opened the door.

“He’s so hot. Dude you need to help me.” The words were out of his mouth before he even thought them over, but Sasuke was unfazed and used to such outbursts.

“Just ask him out or some shit. I really have no time for this.”

“Got it. Yes. But how?”

“Try one of your pick up lines,” the brunet said sarcastically before storming out the dorm.

“Very funny!” Naruto paused. “Wait, could that work? Oh fuck it.”

 

He was embarrassed to admit it, but Naruto did get lost on his way to dorm 2167. He was just not He had an excuse prepared if Sai gave him any shit for taking so long, but there was no need.

Sai was waiting at the door for Naruto, fidgeting with his shirt. He shot Naruto a tentative smile when he saw the blond approach.

“Hey man.”

“Come on in, excuse the mess I’ve just gotten done with a huge exam.”

“That’s why you couldn’t meet up?”

“Yes, I barricaded myself in to study.”

“Ha, sounds like my roommate,” Naruto laughed, entering the room. There really was no mess to speak of. In fact, the room was basically empty. “He shuts burrows underneath his blankets and refuses to talk for days. Um, where is your roommate?”

Sai turned his face away, but not before Naruto saw it revert back to the expressionless mask. “I don’t have one.”

“Oh man, that’s gotta be so nice. I have to work around that bastard’s sleep schedule and lemme just tell you that sucks but I mean he’s also saved my life like ten times, y’know.”

“Yes. Now I have a class in ten, so here’s your clothes.”

“Thanks, sorry for the mix up.”

“Just next time, probably check before stealing.”

“Hey!”

“Well you don’t want some crazy person running around dressed up like you,” Sai joked, a faint blush on his cheeks.

“But isn’t that what just happened?”

“It’s not diagnosed.”

“Oh whatever. Only crazy people walk around in these goddam tops, y’know.”

“Just shut up and get out of here.” The raven pushed a laundry bag into Naruto, effectively shoving him out of the room. Sai stood for a moment with his hand on the door knob staring at Naruto. “Good bye then, Naruto.”

“Hey Sai, um since we aren’t strangers anymore do you think I could have your number now?”

“I still don’t know very much about you, so depending on if our definitions of ‘strangers’ differ we-”

“Just give me your damn number!”

Sai smiled then, the kindest and most real smile Naruto had ever seen, and pulled out his phone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so fun to write! i chose to do an au because i feel more comfortable - and im pretty sure ninjas don't have washing machines. 
> 
> in other news - naruto is me. i am naruto.


	3. Injuries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto getting injured was really no anomaly. But it's still hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a request to do an injured naru x worried sai and wanted to post it to these one shots!!

The second the door opened Sai was already awake, hand clutching a kunai as he calmed his breath to appear still sleeping.

In truth, he had been following the intruder through the building as they entered and climbed the steps to his apartment. It was 2 am in Konoha, meaning that all children were already in bed, and the only people who would be out were those drunkards passed out in bars. Meaning the intruder was an enemy.

A loud crash from the bathroom startled Sai, and sent him rocketing out of bed. He crept quietly to the bathroom, where the door was slightly ajar. Sai scoffed at the light pouring out of the crack, angry at the gall the intruder had. In one quick move he kicked open the door and had the kunai pressed against the intruders neck with their arms behind their back, rendered useless.

“Oh. I thought you were asleep.”

Sai slumped against the intruder’s - Naruto’s - back, dropping the kunai. “I was until you decided to wake the whole building pounding up the stairs.”

“Ah, yeah. Sorry bout that y’know.” Naruto’s back tensed as he spoke. His voice was cheery as usual, but Sai sensed something behind it.

“Naruto. Why are you home?”

“My mission ended early so I got the go ahead to come back.”

Sai stepped back, hands searching the blond’s back as he did. He wore a decently clean jounin vest - obviously not his since it was at least two sizes too big.

“Hmm, tired of the orange and black?”

“Ha!” Naruto scoffed. “I was a bit cold so Yamato-taichou lent me his vest.”

“I would be more inclined to believe you if it wasn’t the middle of July.” Sai huffed, and tried to move Naruto to face him, but the blond moved his face away.

“Mah, nights still get pretty cold, y’know.”

He was shaking slightly and swaying on his feet, leaning back into Sai ever so softly. Missions ended during the day more often than not, and if one did end late then it was common for the ninjas to spend the night outside the village for rest, unless it was top priority. Especially if Yamato was on the team. Sai worried his lip. Something was definitely wrong, but Naruto was not going to let it loose without a fight. Which most likely meant he was trying to protect Sai for some god awful reason.

“Well, come to bed,” Sai whispered into the other boy’s ear, the puff of breath causing him to shiver. “It’s nice and warm and you need your rest.”

“Uh yeah. I just really gotta take a piss y’know. And uh change outta these clothes ‘cause I know you’ll whine about the stink in the morning.”

“I can help you with that.” Trying to get Naruto’s guard down, his pale hands slid around Naruto’s waist to unbutton the vest, but as soon as they reached the blond’s stomach he jumped back with a yelp.

“Jesus - fuck - shit - !” Naruto slumped down against the edge of the tub, clutching his side. Sai dropped down next to him immediately, trying to not act smug. He had known Naruto was injured. That asshole always tried to hide it, thinking he had to seem invincible for some reason. As a faint spot of blood tainted the forest green cloth, Sai started to get worried. He carefully undid the vest, and then the stained jumpsuit underneath.

After peeling back the layers of clothes, Sai got to fully see what the jounin vest served to do. Several lacerations covered Naruto’s chest and stomach. Two were deeper than the rest and muscle tissue was visible. Upon closer investigation Sai could see someone had tried to cauterize the bigger wounds, but they had ripped open again from strain.

“Na-Naruto! Why didn’t you tell me!” Sai jumped up to rummage in the cabinet where the emergency med kit was. Naruto was most likely trying to get at it before Sai had apprehended him. He pulled out cotton balls to stop the bleeding, but dropped half of them on the floor. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me sooner. You could’ve fucking bled out.”

“Ha, no,” Naruto breathed out, “I was, uh, just gonna sti-stitch it a bit then get Sakura-chan to, uh, finish it up tomorrow y’know.”

Sai jammed the cotton and gauze into a cut a little too hard. Naruto squealed, but Sai was too angry to care. Which was actually a lie. He cared way too much.

“I know you think that you’re basically invincible because of Nine Tails, but you still need to take care of yourself! Shit this deep can still take a long time to heal, or get infected-”

“Sai-”

“-and then I would have to take care of your sorry ass. I don’t even know what I’d do if you go seriously injured-”

“Sai!” Naruto grabbed the hands struggling to open the package for the sterilized needle. The raven blinked the tears from his eyes he didn’t even know were falling and looked up to watch as Naruto took his hands from the plastic and guided them to his face. “Look. I’m alright, y’know. I’m not gonna die on you.”

“You could though. You could and what if I’m not there?”

“We can’t always be together on missions or the battlefield. We both knew what we were getting into.” The blond smiled gently. His face was scratched in a few places, and beginning to bruise under one eye. Sai traced the scars on his cheeks with his thumb as he listened. “I’m not ready to die yet, so I damn well won’t. I can promise you that.”

“I - you must think I’m foolish… I’ve never been like this before, and had colleagues put in life or death situations all the time… Just… I don’t want to lose you.”

Naruto let go of Sai’s hands to brush the tears from his face. “I understand. I don’t want to lose you, and you won’t lose me alright? Not tonight. Not anytime soon.”

Sai let his forehead drop until it touched Naruto’s lightly. He breathed in, letting himself bask in the feeling that his lover is here and safe - more or less. After a few minutes he sighed softly and kissed Naruto’s slightly sweaty head.

“Okay. Time to patch this up.”

“Uh, don’t you need some numbing stuff?”

**“Nope. I’m still pissed at you for scaring me.”**

**Author's Note:**

> at least my babies are happy!
> 
> my writing blog: justffine.tumblr.com  
> my main: queenofhearts.co.vu
> 
> please stop by and say hi! or request something. i write anything tbh


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